Shoe cleaning and polishing machine



July 23, 1968 M. PASTORINI 3,393,414

SHOE CLEANING AND POLISHING MACHINE Filed July 7, 1965 INVENTOR United States Patent Oflice 3,393,414 Patented July 23, 1968 3,393,414 SHOE CLEANING AND POLISHING MACHINE Michele Pastorini, Asti, Italy (Corso Vittorio Emanuele 74, Turin, Italy) Filed July 7, 1965, Ser. No. 470,173 7 Claims. (Cl. -34) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shoe cleaning and polishing machine including a fixed shoe support, a pair of side brushes and a top brush and means connected to the brushes for moving the same in engagement with the shoe on the foot of a user placed on the shoe support and for moving the brushes in sequence over all portions of the shoe.

This invention relates to a shoe cleaning and polishing machine, which may be constructed as a coin operated machine. There are already known shoe cleaning and polishing machines comprising of one or more brushes upon which the user places his shoed foot and then moves his foot to allow the brushes or brush to glide over all the shoe surface to be cleaned or polished.

According to the present invention, the user rests the shoe sole on a fixed support and the machine provides for automatically cleaning, brushing, washing, wiping, polishing and glazing the shoe at the vamp, top and sides, point, counter and heel included stopping the machine at the end of the operation. 1

This machine can be controlled by either a button mounted on the machine itself or remote therefrom, or a coin when the machine is constructed as a coin operated machine.

According to this invention, the machine comprises of a base having a support for the shoe sole, said support having reference marks for positioning the shoe into exact position, and an element movable angularly by 180190, the rotation axis of which is normal to the center of the shOe support. This element is provided with all the machine devices which carry out all the operations in sequence.

According to a preferred embodiment, the orientable element is of the cross type having an end of the longer longitudinal arm pivoted on a vertical pin carried by the base, and on the ends of the transversal arm being pivoted two levers each provided at its other end with a cylindrical brush rotating in a horizontal plane, said levers resiliently closing on the sides of the shoe resting on the support, the rotation of said brushes being controlled by devices provided for this purpose. To the other end of the longitudinal arm is joined a vertical support having at the top a pivoted lever carrying at its free end a cylindrical brush rota-ting in a vertical plane and movable toward and away from the shoe, the rotation of said brush being controlled in the same manner as for the two other brushes.

Supplies of detergents, creams or polishes are provided for each brush and are operated according to a predetermined schedule. The br-ushes are made to adhere to the shoe while their support element is rotated by at least 180-190 to opposite sides of the greater shoe axis. Therefore, the brushes glide once or several times over all the shoe surfaces according to the predetermined schedule.

According to another preferred feature of the invention, when the machine is at rest the cross element lies along the greater axis of shoe support and the brushes are spaced apart, while when in operation the levers resiliently close and cause the brushes to engage to the 2 shoe and the machine performs one or more revolutions according to the predetermined schedule,

Brushes and other devices can all be controlled by a single motor or each of them by a separate motor. Other details and advantages will be evident from the enclosed drawing and the following description given by way of an unlimiting example. I

The drawing is a schematic perspective, partly sectioned view of an embodiment of the, automatic shoe polishing machine according to the invention, in which each brush is provided witha separate motor.

Referring to the drawing, 1 is a base, 2 is a support for the shoe sole, 3 is a vertical shaft on which is pivoted one end of the longitudinal arm of a cross element 4, 5 is a plate limiting the approach of side brushes 6 and 7 toward each other, 8 are the three. motors controlling the three brushes.

Side brushes 6 and 7 have their axes normal to the associated levers 9 and 10, respectively, and are mounted at-.the ends of said levers which are pivoted at their other ends on associated transversal arms 11 and 12, respecitvely, of the cross orientable element 4.

At the longitudinal arm end, opposed to that pivoted on fixed shaft 3, the cross element 4 is provided with a vertical support 13 carrying an oscillating lever 14 having at its free end a brush 15 controlled by its motor 8. a

The support 13 is besides provided with means controlling the angular displacement by 190 of the cross orientable element 4, levers 9, 10 and 14, and devices for supplying in sequence detergents, creams or polishes.

On the support 13 there is a shaft 16 controlled through a pulley and belt system 17 by the motor 8 mounted on lever 14; said shaft 16 acting through a reduction. device (not shown) on the two cams 18 for opening and closing the brush holding levers, and the two cams 19 and 20 for supplying in sequence the detergent and washing products from container 21 and creams or polishes from container 22 through ducts 41 and nozzles 42 directed towards the brushes 6, 7 and 15. Levers 9, 10 and 14 are controlled by the two cams 18 which cooperate with an arm 25 and act on lever 14 for raising it and controlling its downward movement happening by gravity or by the aid of a spring (not shown) whereby a bent portion of lever 25 may ride on one cam 18 whereas a downward projection of lever 14 may ride on the other cam 18. The arms 25 are integral with a lever 24 pivoted at one end on shaft 23. The other end of the lever 24 is provided with a triangular small lever 26 vertically pivoted at one apex, said triangular lever having at its second apex a pivoted lever 27 connected to the cross device 28 slidably mounted by means of a slot 29 on a pin 30 joint to the longitudinal arm of the cross element 4.

The cross device 28 is urged to its closing position by a spring 31 mounted on the third apex of the small lever 26; The arms of the cross device 28 are connected by means of levers 32 and 33 to the brush holding levers 9 and 10. Upon movement of the lever 24, the brushes are made to adhere to the shoe for cleaning and polishing, spring 31 adjusts the pressure exerted on the shoe by the two brushes by varying the position of lever 26. The brush holding levers may follow the shoe shape and exert the desired pressure on the shoe.

To a shaft 34 driven by the shaft 16 through a reduction gear (not shown) and passing and protruding from the support 13 is joined at the bottom a crank lever 35 to the free end of which is pivoted a rod 36. The other end of the rod 36 is engaged by a chain 37 wound on a sprocket wheel 38 fixed to base 1, and another chain 39 wound in opposite direction on another coaxial sprocket 3 wheel 40 fixed to base 1, so that upon rotation of shaft 34 the cross orientable element 4 moves angularly through an angle of 180'190 about the axis of shaft 3 at every revolution of the lever 35. As will be obvious to those skilled in the art, there is a critical relationship between the length of the crank lever 35 and the diameters of the sprocket wheels 38 and 40 in order to obtain the desired angular movement of the element 4.

The steps can be many times repeated in sequence according to the cam arrangement.

Of course various modifications can be made to the described and illustrated devices, different may be the shape of orientable element on which are mounted the oscillating brush holding levers, different may be the means for supplying in sequence detergents, creams and so on for the shoe polishing and glazing, and means for automatically cleaning the brushes can be provided without departing from the invention scope.

I claim:

11. A machine for cleaning and polishing shoes comprising, in combination, support means; a fixed shoe support on said support means adapted to receive a, shoe to be cleaned on the foot of a user; a pair of side brushes rotatable about substantially vertical axes and being respectively arranged to opposite sides of said shoe support; a top brush rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis and being arranged upwardly spaced from said shoe support; a lever for each of said brushes and carrying at one end thereof the respective brush rotatable about its axis; means carrying each of said levers on said other end thereof pivotally about a pivot axis substantially parallel to the respective brush axis, said means including an element angularly displaceable through an angle of about 180 about a vertical pivot axis passing through a median line of said shoe support; means cooperating with said levers for swinging the same in sequence toward and away from said shoe support; means connected to said brushes for rotating the same about their respective axes; and means connected to said element for swinging the same about said vertical pivot axis.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said means connected to said brushes for rotating the same about their axes comprise a motor for each brush and being carried on said one end of the respective lever.

3. A machine as defined in claim 2, wherein said element is a cross-shaped element having a longer arm pivoted at one end about said vertical pivot axis, said longer arm carrying at the other end thereof a vertical support on which the arm of said top brush is pivoted, and said cross-shaped element having a shorter transverse arm on opposite ends of which the arms of said side brushes are respectively pivoted.

4. A machine as defined in claim 3, wherein said means cooperating with said levers comprise cam means turnable carried by said vertical support and driven by the motor driving said top brush and lever means engaging said cam means and cooperating with said levers carrying said brushes.

5. A machine as defined in claim 4, wherein said lever means comprise a crank lever pivoted at one end on said vertical support and having a transverse arm cooperating with said cam means and engaging the lever carrying said top brush.

6. A machine as defined in claim *5, wherein said lever means comprise further a small triangular lever pivoted at one corner thereof to the other end of said crank lever, a cross member mounted on said cross element slidable in direction of said longer arm of the latter, a lever pivotally connected at one end thereof to a second corner of said triangular lever and connected at the other end thereof to said cross member, a pair of levers each pivotally connected at one end thereof to said cross member and pivotally connected at the other end thereof to a respective lever carrying said side brushes at a portion of the respective lever intermediate the ends thereof, and a spring connected at opposite ends to the third corner of said triangular lever and to said cross member.

7. A machine as defined in claim 6, wherein said means for swinging said element about said vertical pivot axis comprises a vertical shaft turnably carried by said vertical support and driven by said motor driving said top brush, crank means connected to and driven by said vertical shaft, and means connecting said crank means to said element for oscillating the latter about said vertical pivot axis during turning of said vertical shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 919,903 4/1909 Magidson 15-32 1,088,563 2/1914 Grafton 1532 1,623,218 4/1927 Thompson 15-32 EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner. 

